PEOCEEDINGS 
OF THE 
ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 
VOL. XXXVIII. 1917-18. 
I. — Recent Developments of the Committee of the Privy Council 
for Scientific and Industrial Research. Address by John 
Horne, LL.D., F.R.S. 
(Read November 5, 1917. MS. received November 12, 1917.) 
At the opening of another session the attention of the Fellows ought to 
be directed to certain points concerning the administration of the affairs 
of this Society. One gratifying feature is the completion of the card 
catalogue of the volumes in the Society’s library. After the removal to 
our present quarters in 1909 it became apparent that the old catalogue in 
three large volumes was unsatisfactory. The original entries were not up 
to modern requirements, and, in view of a new catalogue being prepared, 
the new marks caused by the altered arrangement of rooms and shelves had 
been imperfectly registered. The library staff realised that nothing short 
of a card catalogue prepared from the volumes as they stand on the shelves 
would meet existing requirements. This was an arduous undertaking, 
involving considerable outlay. Dr Knott has estimated that the library at 
present contains forty-six thousand volumes, the greater part of which 
consists of scientific serials. To accomplish the task of cataloguing this 
large collection it was necessary to obtain outside expert assistance. 
At the beginning of 1914 Dr Sutherland Black, the curator of the 
library at that date, resolved that the card catalogue should be begun 
without further delay. He generously offered to defray the cost of the 
undertaking in so far as it involved outside aid. For nearly four years 
he has employed an expert typist to carry on the work. A few weeks 
ago he wrote to the General Secretary that the card catalogue of the 
volumes had been completed. As he modestly put it, his contract with 
himself had at last been adequately fulfilled. The only uncatalogued 
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